Startup news and deals
๐ธ๐ฆ๐ Iyris, a Saudi startup, raised $16M for its innovative solar glass technology designed to enhance the growth of fresh produce inside greenhouses in challenging climates.
๐ฌ๐งย ๐ฆ Kelpi, a British startup, raised ยฃ4.3M for its seaweed-based alternatives to plastic. Its bio-coatings have multiple applications, notably to protect fresh fruits.
๐ฒ๐ฆ๐พ YoLa Fresh, a Moroccan startup, raised $7M for its platform, which facilitates the relationship between fresh produce farmers and food sellers (such as restaurants).
๐ฆ๐ช๐ดGrubTech, an Emirati startup, raised $15M for its set of tools to help restaurants manage their operations from deliveries to inventory. We observe the emergence of an interesting ecosystem of Agri-FoodTech startups in the Gulf region. This is supported by state funds, which heavily invest in order to attract talent. Itโs a space to put on the map and which we hope to hear more about in the future.
๐ช๐ฌ๐พ OneOrder, an Egyptian startup, raised $16M to simplify supply chain management for restaurants and hotels. The startup wants to streamline this supply chain by centralising orders in its own warehouses and then delivering them in a single time to clients.
๐บ๐ธย ๐ Shinkei, a US-based startup, raised $6M for its fish processing technology, which combines both advanced automation and traditional Japanese ancestral techniques to achieve higher quality.
Regulation & public report
๐บ๐ธย ๐ฎย The FDA approved the use of DSM Bovaerโs ingredient in US dairy farms. This ingredient (based on algae) reduces the amount of methane cows emit and is among the growing number of solutions experimented with to address one of the biggest โclimate problemsโ of the food value chain.
Industry news & trends
๐ฆ๐นย ๐ถย BioCraft Pet Nutrition, an Austrian startup applying cellular agriculture for pet food, says it has reached price parity with โpremium animal meatโ pet food. While the production is yet to be scaled up and the commercialisation to be authorised, this is good news in an otherwise quite gloomy alternative protein ecosystem. Also, we are getting more and more signals that pet food and higher-value ingredients (fats, sugars, chocolateโฆ) may lead the way in terms of scale for cellular agriculture rather than meat.
๐ต๐ญย ๐ย A genetically modified rice (called Golden Rice) developed to combat vitamin A deficiency (a cause of thousands of deaths and disability among children) was blocked from being planted in the Philippines. This follows a campaign by Greenpeace and local farmers.
๐ฎ๐นย ๐ซย Ferrero announced that it will launch a plant-based Nutella in Italy this fall.
